New Deal Programs The Complexity of Alphabet Soup

AAA Agricultural Adjustment Act 1933 Raise Farm Prices -Reduce Production -Prevent Surpluses

AAA -farmers paid for not cultivating 25-50% of land -eliminated unnecessary livestock -income rose 50% by 1936 (excluded tenant farmers and sharecroppers) -declared unconstitutional in 1936 (agriculture was an intrastate activity and not subject to federal regulations)

CCC Civilian Conservation Corp 1933 Employ Young Men -reforestation and conservation tasks -employed 250K 18 to 25 years old -earned $30 a month

CWA Civil Works Administration 1933 Provide Public Works Jobs -employed 4 million -earned $15 a week

TVA Tennessee Valley Authority 1933 Built Dams to Prevent Flooding and Sell Electricity -involved seven states that included: Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina

NIRA National Industrial Recovery Act 1933 Speed Up Business Recovery -Established Fair Codes of Competition -Provide Minimum Wages -Permit Collective Bargaining -declared unconstitutional in 1935

FERA Federal Emergency Relief Act 1933 Distributed direct financial aid to unemployed workers

FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 1933 Insured Bank Deposits to Prevent Bank Failures -protected deposits up to $2500 (later increased to $5K)

PWA Public Works Administration 1933 Received over $3 Billion for Public Works Projects -employed hundreds of thousands of people -projects focused on hydroelectric power, sewage plants and flood control -involved in building schools, bridges and parks

HOLC Home Owner’s Loan Corporation 1933 Provided Mortgage Loans -provided loans to homeowner’s facing foreclosure

SEC Securities and Exchange Commission 1934 Regulated Stock Market -restricted buying on margin

SSA Social Security Act 1935 Combat Economic Insecurity Due to Unemployment and Old Age -provides pensions, unemployment insurance, aid to blind, deaf, disabled and dependent children ($10-85) -payroll tax on employers

NLRA National Labor Relations Act NLRB (Wagner Act) 1935 Prohibited Employers From Committing Unfair Labor Practices -replaced NIRA -allowed workers to join unions -outlawed union busting tactics (no blacklists, no spies, etc.)

NYA National Youth Administration 1935 Provided Part-time Employment for College and H.S. students -employed millions of students

REA Rural Electrification Administration 1935 Encouraged Farmers to Join Cooperatives To Bring Electricity to Farms

WPA Works Progress Administration 1935 Provided Work to Those in the Arts and Theater -employs over 2 million -constructed schools, parks, bridges, roads and hospitals

FLSA Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 Establishes Minimum Wages and Maximum Hours